Systems for collecting and disposing of bodily fluids and other fluids that are aspirated from a patient during surgical procedures are well known. Conventional fluid waste collection systems typically use some type of container or canister into which the aspirated fluids are collected. As the fluid collection canisters become filled during the course of a surgical procedure, the filled canisters are replaced with empty canisters. Depending on the volume of the canisters and the amount of fluid being collected, the surgical procedure may have to be interrupted to replace a filled canister with an empty canister.
It should be appreciated that the aspirated fluids may be contaminated with pathogens, such as HIV, HPV, Hepatitis, MRSA and other infectious agents. During the surgical procedure and/or after the surgical procedure is completed, the fluid filled canisters are typically carted from the operating room to a central collection location for disposal or, alternatively, the canisters may be emptied, cleaned, and re-used. Accordingly, handling of fluid collection canisters by hospital personnel creates a risk that the handlers may come into contact with the contaminated fluids contained in the canisters due to spillage, leaks or splashing while carrying, emptying or cleaning the canisters.
In an effort to minimize exposure to pathogens in the aspirated fluid, the canisters may be partially pre-filled with a disinfectant to destroy any pathogens as the fluid enters the canisters. Alternatively solidifying agents or coagulants may be added to the canisters to minimize the potential for spillage, splashing and leakage. However, such additives increase the disposal costs because the canisters must then be treated as hazardous waste and must be incinerated or delivered to a landfill. Furthermore, there is also the additional labor and associated costs with having to purchase, store, and handle the canisters themselves. In any event, whether disinfectants or solidifiers are added, there remains a risk that handlers of the canisters will still come into contact with the fluid waste.
In an attempt to overcome the risk of exposure to pathogens and the additional costs and labor associated with the use of canisters to collect fluid waste, systems have been developed to collect the fluid waste in reservoirs which can be drained directly into the facility's sewer system. However, such systems operate in a manner very similar to the canister systems (apart from having to handle the canisters). Specifically, such systems utilize redundant reservoirs and piping so that when the first reservoir is filled, the operator has to manually disconnect the suction hose from the first reservoir and re-connect the suction hoses to the second reservoir which presents the same undesirable interruption of the medical procedure as when using a canister-type collection system.
In an attempt to minimize the interruption of the medical procedure, others have attempted to automate the process using redundant systems, with each system having its own reservoir, vacuum line, drain pipe, fluid level sensor and associated valving. In use, the first reservoir is under negative pressure and collects the fluid. When the first reservoir reaches a predetermined fill level as detected by the first fluid level sensor, the system is programmed to switch the negative pressure from the first reservoir to the second reservoir, such that the second reservoir begins to collect the fluid while the fluid in the first reservoir is drained. This automatic switching between filling and draining the redundant systems is repeated until the medical procedure is completed. While the switching between reservoirs is much quicker using the automated process than doing so manually, and while the capacity to collect fluid is theoretically unlimited, such automatic switching systems nevertheless still cause an undesirable brief interruption of the suction while the system switches between the reservoirs.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an efficient system for collecting and disposing of aspirated fluid waste from medical procedures, which eliminates the need for handling of canisters to avoid the potential risk of exposure to pathogens, which has an unlimited capacity, and which avoids any interruption of suction during the medical procedure.